ARCTIC Bears and Pipeline Construction in Alaska
ABSTRACT. Serious problems were encountered with bears during construction of the 1274-km-long trans-Alaska oil pipelinebetween Prudhoe Bay and Valdez. This multi-billion-dollar project traversed both black bear (U sus americanus Pallas) and grizzly bear (U. arctos L.) habitat throughout its entire...
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| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
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| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.546.455 http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic43-2-103.pdf |
| Summary: | ABSTRACT. Serious problems were encountered with bears during construction of the 1274-km-long trans-Alaska oil pipelinebetween Prudhoe Bay and Valdez. This multi-billion-dollar project traversed both black bear (U sus americanus Pallas) and grizzly bear (U. arctos L.) habitat throughout its entire length. Plans for dealing with anticipated problems with bears were often inadequate. Most (71 %) problems occurred north of the Yukon River in a previously roadless Wilderness where inadequate refuse disposal and widespread animal feeding created dangerous situations. Of the 192 officially reported bear problems associated with the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) (1971-79), about 65 % involved the presence of bears in camps or dumps, 13 % the feeding of bears on garbage or handouts, 10 % property damage or economic loss, 7 % bears under and in buildings, and only5 % charges by bears. Remarkably, no bear-related injuries were reported, suggesting that bears became accustomed p ople and did not regard them as a threat. Following construction f the TAPS there have been proposals for pipelines to transport natural gas from Prudhoe Bay to southern and Pacific-rim markets. Based on past experience, some animal control measures were developed during the planning phase for the authorized gas pipeline route in Alaska. Fences installed around 100-person "survey " camps were found to be effective in deterring bears in two traditionally troublesome areas. Key words: bears, pipelines, bear-human conflicts, Alaska RESUME. Au cours de la construction de l'oleoduc trans-alaskien realis & sur une longueur de 1274 km entre Prudhoe Bay et Valdez, de serieux problemes sont survenus, dans lequels des ours etaient impliques. La totalite de cette ligne coiitant plusieurs milliards de dollars traversait des zones frequent & par Yours noir (Ursus americanus Pallas) et le grizzly (U. arctos L.). Les plans permettant de faire face aux problemes qui avaient et6 prevus |
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